Nothing Personal
by anonbeliever
Summary: After climbing to the top of the Thieves' Guild, Vallan thinks her underworld throne is untouchable but when a part of her past she'd have rather left in Cyrodiil arrives for Vittoria Vici's wedding she'll realise blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb, especially when the Dark Brotherhood is involved.
1. Chapter 1

**Nothing Personal**

4E 204 21

 **st** **of Sun's Dawn**

It had happened months ago but all anyone could talk about was the murder. Grelod the Kind had been killed in her own orphanage.

Such a scandal.

No one knew exactly how she died; some said her throat was torn open as if by a rabid animal, while others claimed poison was slipped into her supper and the guards insisted she took an arrow to the chest. The only thing every gossip could agree on was that this was the work of the Dark Brotherhood.

Vallan had spent most of her adolescent years in Bruma and so had heard of the black and red clad assassins that worshipped the Night Mother by killing for hire in some weird cult-business mix. She had also heard of the brutal and bloody destruction of their 'Sanctuary' led by the Thalmor in the very town she lived in, identical to every other outpost of theirs. So upon hearing of their survival she let her curiosity get the better of her.

'Curiosity killed the Khajiit… and landed the Bosmer in a lot of bother,' Vallan thought as she sat in the corner of the back room of the Bannered Mare for her would-be associate. It had taken a lot of persuading to get Delvin to set up this meeting but she couldn't pass up the opportunity.

When the Bosmer had first begun thieving as a career she accumulated many books on the subject; some imparted knowledge to hone her skills while others were simply for amusement. There were few, however, she had kept for neither purpose, more as a biography of the guild she had joined. One such book was ' _Sacred Witness'_ and to this day it still fascinated her as much as it did when she had first stumbled upon it in a forsworn camp.

Whilst she was still of the opinion that with enough skill you could avoid detection in almost any situation, Vallan could see some of the Night Mother's points: due to a deficiency in pickpocketing she was unable to take fishing jobs and could see the benefits of stealing from a corpse. With how well the splinter group did it was obvious there was money to be made from such an enterprise and while perhaps it didn't belong in the Thieves Guild as a faction, there was no reason why the two groups shouldn't share a close relationship of the business kind.

So here she was, waiting in the back room of the Bannered Mare for the leader of Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood, a woman known only to her as Astrid. But despite none of the other notable members of the Thieves Guild wanting anything to do with the venture, she was not on her own. Jenassa loomed over her, cloaked in shadows, looking every bit as intimidating when standing motionless as she did rushing her foes with duel-wielded swords. In a show of solidarity she had donned Thieves Guild armour instead of the glass set Vallan had forged her on the anniversary of their meeting. Vallan was wearing her Guild Master's armour and her Amulet of Articulation, looking completely nonchalant as she lounged in her chair.

"Are you sure your… contact is coming, Sera? We have been waiting here for quite some time." Jenassa asked, and although her words betrayed her uncertainty her face never lost its mask of indifference.

Vallan remained silent, focussing on the niggling feeling in her mind telling her that the assassin was present. It was a true boon to the thief that she could feel when she was being watched as it had stopped her from many failed heists. She could feel the gaze as if she was staring straight at them and knew that at least one person was watching.

There was a slight movement in the corner of her eye and suddenly a woman was stood in the centre of the room. She wore tight leathers in the Dark Brotherhood colours of red and black that emphasised every curve and a masked cowl that hid most of her a thin gap in the material a set of green eyes stared at her with an unsettling intensity. Never taking her gaze off the two elves she rapped on the door twice which then swung open, revealing a hulking Nord. The doors closed in silence.

A minute passed in which both parties just stared at the other before Vallan rose from her seat. The burly Nord growled warningly and made to intercept the Wood Elf but the woman held her hand up, stopping him in his tracks.

That display of power sealed it.

"Astrid, I presume," Vallan stated with confidence clearly heard despite her raspy voice. She thought about holding out her hand in the typical Imperial greeting but as she was fairly certain from her height that Astrid was a Nord, she decided against shooting herself in the foot.

The newly identified Astrid sauntered over to a chair a short distance away from the corner Vallan and Jenassa had been occupying and reclined back, making Vallan's former position look more like a drunken slump.

"You have me at a disadvantage; all Delvin would tell me was of you was your title, Guild Master," she paused. "And, of course, that you had a proposition of great interest." Astrid's words dripped with seduction and Vallan's ears twitched in spite of her vow to be all business.

Sitting back in her seat, Vallan pulled her hood down to reveal her Bosmer features and twisted her lips into what she had been assured was a beguiling smirk. The thief knew Astrid would recognise her, she was Thane of every major hold but Windhelm, but an act of trust was necessary for the talks to continue.

"My name is Vallan and yes, I do believe you'll be interested in what I have to say." She paused to gauge Astrid's receptiveness but the cowl she wore to hide her face did its job well. "The groups we represent have rather similar goals and even how we reach those goals differs with only one major rule."

"No killing," Astrid interrupted, her tone betraying her hidden smile. "I always pitied the Thieves Guild for not indulging in that pleasure."

Vallan felt her expression cool to a look more suitable for business. "Some of us do, Astrid, myself included," she said blandly, as if stating the weather. "But some is not all, and all the more often as our guild grows and more join us, I see the inexperienced hunted through the streets we supposedly run."

There was a bitter undercurrent to her tone towards the end of her speech that betrayed her façade of indifference, something Astrid picked up on. "Why take it so personally?" She asked. "No offense but I always thought your organisation followed the basic principle of, 'every man for himself' or was that another thing that's changed under your management?"

"Don't misunderstand, Astrid," the elf brusquely replied. "We care about each other in the Thieves Guild but to compare a month long member to a comrade who's been with you for years is ridiculous." The Bosmer paused to give an edged smile. "It isn't personal, it's just good business; a dead protégée is wasted time and time is money."

"I still fail to see this 'interesting' deal." Astrid said, dragging the conversation back on course.

"Have you heard of Mjoll the Lioness?" Vallan asked innocently. "She hates the Thieves Guild and is completely dedicated to wiping us out."

Astrid snorted derisively. "If you want a hit then perform the Black Sacrame-"

"If I wanted a simple hit then you'd already be speaking to Maven," Vallan cut across in a voice made of Skyforge Steel that twisted her hoarseness into a hiss. She cleared her throat and continued in a calmer tone, aware of the way the male Nord's hands had clenched. "Your end of the bargain is a little more complex than that. Mjoll is trying to rally the troops to 'flush us out from the sewers' but killing her won't end things or I'd have done that by now. Every time one 'defender-of-the people' falls, another crops up. They don't fear us and for good reason. What's the worst we're goingto do? Steal from them? We probably already have."She paused, both to rest her voice and to consider her next words carefully. She was wary of admitting weakness to someone who could easily stab her in the back, but as Astrid's face had remained closed off since the Wood Elf had interrupted her Vallan saw no point in dragging the conversation out any longer.

"Before I became Guild Master we were almost destroyed by the actions of an enemy we couldn't have anticipated. It took far too long to kill him and far too much of the guild's resources to do so." She leant forward in her seat, eager to come to an accord and be on her way.

"I propose that the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood watch each other's backs. You get rid of our more noticeable enemies and in return the Dark Brotherhood has the reassurance that the Thieves Guild and all its influence, plus my own, will support your family when it inevitably finds itself on the wrong side of the law."

Astrid considered the terms for a moment before nodding. "Of course I have some conditions of my own." She held up a single finger. "One, if you hear of anyone performing the Black Sacrament you will send word to me. Two." Another finger joined its sibling. "I want to know exactly what this 'influence' would provide us. Three, we will not take orders from you; I am the leader of the Dark Brotherhood and that will remain so…"

Vallan smirked as she joined in the bargaining. The deal was a success and she would trust to her Amulet of Articulation to see that the rest of the negotiations went in her favour.

 **4E 205 29** **th** **of First Seed**

The past year or so since the meeting had been quiet. Mjoll the Lioness' body had turned up floating in Riften's canal and thanks to a few well-placed rumours in the inns, the news of the alliance had spread like wild fire.

No one had risen to take Mjoll's place.

True to her end of the deal, Vallan had passed along numerous rumours of the Black Sacrament from across Skyrim and had only once had to exert pressure to release an assassin; it was surprisingly simple to get a murderer free from Riften jail, even one that had burnt a 'poor fishwife' to ashes.

All in all, life had been good.

Vallan couldn't help but feel like it was the calm before the storm.

The elf was in Solitude; she had completed her sweep job and had decided to kill to two birds with one stone by collecting her bounty while she was there. Jenassa had returned to the Cistern after the giants had been dispatched because while her sneaking had improved during her time with Vallan it wasn't so good that she could go unnoticed in close quarters.

She was just stepping up the stairs to the Blue Palace court when she heard a voice echo down to her. It wasn't unusual for Jarl Elisif to have guests and when that was the case she'd just call Falk Firebeard to the side but Vallan knew this voice and she felt her face go cold.

She was frozen in place, unable to so much as draw a breath. The voice sounded again but closer and the tone was different: harsher now, like talking to vermin. It took Vallan a minute to realise that the only _sound_ was her choked gasps; the voice was in her head.

Mehrune's Razor was at her hip but the thief still felt helpless. It was as if nothing had changed, as if she hadn't come to Skyrim and taken down a dragon, as if she hadn't reinvented herself as an ambitious but more importantly powerful woman, as if all that had happened since that night was worthless and she was just a scared little girl again. Vallan forced herself to turn and stride out into Solitude, all the while fighting the urge to press sweaty a hand to the scar on her neck, and once in the streets she ran towards Proudspire.

Jordis took one look at her Thane's face before fleeing to the Winking Skeever and when she returned Vallan was no longer there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nothing Personal**

 **4E 205 3** **rd** **of Rain's Hand**

Vallan had arrived back at the Cistern four days ago and had thrown herself into planning heists like she could be called to the Evergloom at any minute.

No one in the guild was too concerned when she went straight to her desk instead of collecting her cut of the sweep job; it wasn't unusual for the thief to bury herself in her work for a day or so and some of the best thefts the guild had accomplished were the results of such dedication.

Their apathy collapsed when Vallan refused to sleep for three days.

It wasn't entirely known how the Bosmer had managed to stay lucid under such sleep deprivation. She sat hunched over building layouts, constantly adding little coded notes and would eat only when pressed and never away from her workspace. Whenever Jenassa had tried to coax her away from her work the Guild Master would calmly but firmly deny her and the Dunmer would return to her anxious, and slightly peeved, silence. Brynyolf and Karliah had talked of an intervention whilst Vex was all for Tonilia slipping Sleeping Tree Sap into her food. With all the scheming surrounding the Guild Master it had seemed slightly anticlimactic when Vallan had, without any warning, passed out on her papers.

No one had dared breathe in case they woke Vallan, well apart from Jenassa, who'd scooped up the lanky Bosmer and unceremoniously dumped her on the nearest bed, indifferent to the flinches she received. Numerous sighs of relief could be heard as the elf remained dead to the world and with all the excitement over, the guild returned to normal working practice, content to let sleeping dragons lie.

So the Wood Elf was more than a little disorientated when she woke nine hours later on one of the only lumpy straw beds left in the Cistern. Vallan shot up from the bed only to stumble slightly as the aches in her body made themselves known. A quick glance around showed the other thieves in the Cistern were all looking pointedly in another direction and her breath hissed out of her as she dug her nails into her palms, irritated with herself for displaying such weakness even amongst friends.

"Cynric!" Vallan barked and the Breton scrambled to her side before blanching at the quick fire questions launched at him. "What day is it, where is Jenassa and has anything happened while I was sleeping?"Vallan demanded and Cynric was forced to jog to keep up with her long-legged stride as she made for her desk.

"Turdas, she's in the Flagon and two Dark Brotherhood assassins turned up about twenty minutes ago." He said, jerking his thumb towards the door. Vallan's eyes widened slightly at that, before flickering over to Ravyn Imyan. She abruptly changed her course.

"Make sure Ravyn stays in the Cistern." The master thief murmured to Cynric in dismissal before marching towards the Ragged Flagon. One condition of the agreement between the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood was that the full members of each guild were safe from the other but it never hurt to be cautious; she didn't need an inter-guild incident when she had a much bigger problem to focus on.

Vallan had worked hard to push her trip to Solitude from her mind. It wasn't the first time she had been ambushed by her memories of life before Skyrim and focussing her energy elsewhere usually helped; if she was so caught up in plans and adventures how could she think of Cyrodiil? But this time the memories didn't come to her in dreams or phantom twinges of scar tissue, instead they were whispered and hissed at her in the voice of the woman who had caused her so much pain. Her presence here in the sanctuary Vallan had built was a slap to the face and she would not let it go unanswered.

There were assassins in the Ragged Flagon. Nocturnal had gifted her luck to her Nightingale once again.

Even with the recent improvements of the Thieves Guild, the Ragged Flagon still managed to look dark and seedy, but since the vast majority of its patrons were dark and seedy it wasn't much of an issue.

Vallan slipped into the tavern stealthily, wanting to get the gist of the meeting so far. She sidled up to the bar next to Brynyolf unnoticed and tapped him on the shoulder then nodded to Vekel, although neither of them batted an eyelid at her sudden appearance, instead continuing with their obviously forced conversation. The Bosmer caught Vex rolling her eyes at her before roughly gesturing towards the table closest to the bridge. None of the occupants had seen her yet, so caught up in their discussion. From the look of frustration on Delvin's face it wasn't going very well.

"I'm telling you she ain't up for any job." He said slowly, clearly having said the words many times in a variety of different ways.

He was sat opposite a Dark Elf and an Argonian. They both wore the signature armour of the Dark Brotherhood although only the elf was hooded. The Dark Elf sighed and spoke so softly Vallan couldn't catch a single word, although if the deepening grimace on Delvin's face was anything to go by they weren't admitting defeat.

Looking up from the monotonous meeting, the Argonian's eyes widened as they lighted upon the Bsomer at the bar. He lightly nudged his companion who followed his line of sight and they both made to stand from their seats, but Vallan waved them back down and made her way over. She felt a presence behind her and knew Jenassa was once again the shadow at her back. As she sat in the seat next to him, Delvin gave her a sour look.

"I thought you were comatose, boss." He grumbled by way of greeting but quickly got down to business. "These two 'ere have brought us an Elder Council's Amulet. I offered them a letter of credit but they insisted on seein' you."

"Astrid wishes to speak with you," the Dark Elf cut in. "She instructed us to bring you to Falkreath."

Vallan raised a thin eyebrow. "I'm already obliged to parley with Astrid. Why did she not come here herself and why are you rejecting your… offer?" She asked, glancing dubiously at the slip of paper in Delvin's hands. It hurt her head to think of how many zeros may be in that figure.

It was the Argonian this time who answered her. "The terms of payment will be decided by Astrid. She would have come here in person but the target that procured us this amulet requires all of her attention."

Vallan nodded before turning to deftly pluck the paper from the man next to her. She ignored his indignant grunt, focussing instead on the breath-taking sum he had promised the Dark Brotherhood.

Her mind boggled when she tried to imagine exactly what service she could possibly provide that was worth _fifteen thousand septims_.

Looking Delvin in the eye, the Bosmer folded the note in half and slipped it into one of the pouches on her cuirass before rising from the table. "I will accompany you to Falkreath but first there is some minor business I must attend to here. I shall not be long." Vallan felt multiple gazes burning into her at those words and knew that the guild would not take kindly to another leave of absence.

"Good, this is not the time to keep Astrid waiting. Meet us at the stables at dusk." The elf commanded haughtily before both she and her companion swiftly rose from the table and made for the Ratway. Whilst the assassin was in no position to demand that Vallan do anything for her, she let it go as the tension in the room steadily climbed with every light-footed step they took towards the exit.

As soon as the Ratway door shut hands clamped down on Vallan's shoulders and she felt herself twitch; she had never been one for restraints but manhandling escalated the aversion. Jenassa, for even in her 'family' no one else would dare to contain the woman who had defeated Mercer Frey, just tightened her hands.

Realising an interrogation was coming, Vallan sat back to think. Whilst she was uncertain how to proceed she couldn't just brush off her panic attack in Solitude and the arrival of the assassins seemed like a divine gift. But with the combined glares of the senior members of the thieves' guild on her, she couldn't figure out how to justify this new venture.

Or how to weasel out of a true explanation.

"What the void do you think you're doing?" Vex demanded angrily. She was leaning towards Vallan, both hands planted firmly on the table she had been sat at.

"Taking care of some business." Vallan answered simply.

"Bullshit! I heard what you said. If it was as simple as that then their leader would come to you!" The Imperial jabbed a finger at her, looking very much like she would like to jab it into her chest. Vex never did react well to liars.

Brynyolf laid a calming hand on Vex's arm. "Look, lass," he implored. "We weren't gonna say anything before; personal business is personal, right? But we can't ignore this."

'You could quite easily,'Vallan thought petulantly before sighing. She glanced imperiously at Jenassa who removed her hands from the Bosmer's shoulders.

"It does actually tie in with the Dark Brotherhood business." She started before Tonilia cut her off.

"I told you before you can play it tough or you can play it smart and you ignored everyone's advice when you sought them out. What did they do?"It seemed boss or not, they'd rip her a new one if she screwed up. Only this time the ripping was completely unwarranted.

"It's nothing they've _done_ , it's something they can _do_." She explained exasperatedly. The others' gaze turned impossibly sharper at her words and Vallan found herself choking on her speech as she tried to articulate it. Vallan had never voiced what had happened to her, not even to Jenassa and found she still didn't want to speak about it. But she couldn't lie to those she had become close to, her chosen family. It was obvious from her encounter in Solitude the past couldn't be buried and it was time to get closure.

"Before I joined the guild, before I came to Skyrim, I was hurt pretty bad." She stopped to take a deep breath and realised that one of her hands had unconsciously reached up to press of the slit of scar tissue curving around her throat, broadcasting exactly how bad she was hurt. She paused to glance around at the faces surrounding her. Each one of them looked grim but there was no surprise or disappointment. She supposed having a past was common in this trade. Vallan was a bit amazed hers had stayed secret this long but like Brynyolf had said, 'personal business is personal'; the only reason the guild had intervened was that she'd made it a public issue.

She cleared her throat and started again in a slightly stronger voice. "In Solitude I overheard the woman who had orchestrated it all. It's been affecting me long enough and I feel the need for closure."

Vallan forced herself to straighten up, to show confidence in what she was about to say. This was one course of action she would not be dissuaded from. "I was never in a position to adequately pursue my revenge but now I'm the leader of a very well connected criminal syndicate, the thane of countless holds and have an understanding with a cult of assassins." With each addition to the list her ego swelled and she could finally look Brynyolf, her second-in-command and biggest adversary on this front, in the eyes.

"With the help of the Dark Brotherhood, I will kill that woman. Her death, however, will be by _my_ hand." The last words were hissed out through gritted teeth.

No one spoke for a minute. It was much like how it had been when she first suggested their alliance with the assassins. Finally Brynyolf nodded in assent. "If this is what you need to focus again lass, you have my support." The others added their agreement and a small smile twisted on Vallan's thin lips before she wiped it off as Brynyolf began talking business again. "The guild practically runs itself but if you've got any heists for us we'll have a run through before you go. You can leave the guild to me Vallan, but make sure to check in once every couple of weeks and don't get yourself killed." At her nod he made his way to the Cistern. He stopped at the door to jauntily call over his shoulder, "and don't forget to let Karliah know."

Vallan wasn't too bothered about Karliah, she more than anyone understood the need for revenge.

The Guild Master made to follow her second only to be stopped by a hesitant hand on her shoulder. Jenassa had stayed quiet throughout her interrogation and Vallan wondered how much she had already guessed through their five years together. She also wondered how offended Jenassa would be that her employer for half a decade had never confided in her.

There was a caution in her gaze that had never been there before and the Bosmer hoped that her omission wouldn't cost her their friendship... their kinship.

"Serrah," The Dunmer began and Vallan was momentarily distracted by the light from the sconces dancing across the golden war paint on her face. The next words caught her attention however. "How are you?" It was simple and to the point and Vallan would never have answered truthfully if the question had come from anyone else. Jenassa was cynical, sarcastic, and callous but there was a sorority between them that had developed one backhanded compliment at a time.

"Exhausted."

 **Thank you for the follows and favourites. I aim to update this story bimonthly but there may be some delays. Out of all my playthroughs Vallan was my favourite so I'm glad I've finally managed to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and get the headcanon off my chest.**


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing Personal

 **4E 205 5** **th** **of Rain's Hand**

It had taken two days to reach Falkreath. Vallan was very much aware of the fact, having slept one night on the cold forest floor and spent the remainder of her time on horseback. It wouldn't normally be an issue but assassins did not make great conversationalists and she had left Jenassa behind to assist in the planned heists.

Well that's what Vallan told her at least.

The elf almost wished she'd brought her companion with her because at least then their sniping banter would have distracted her from what she was about to do.

Back at the Ragged Flagon, she had felt so brave about entering the lair of void-touched killers but now the reality was starting to catch up with her.

She was going to a Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.

To plan an assassination.

And then carry out said assassination.

It wasn't that she was averse to killing. She was no stranger to death and had gone after many bandits for their bounty but this time it just felt… different, more insidious somehow. It may seem mad that she would be more distressed by killing for revenge than for money but Vallan had never desired the death of another, she simply desired the coin.

The need to make that woman suffer was like acid in her veins. It scared her more than she liked to admit.

After swallowing that realisation, Vallan attempted to make good use of the journey by planning what she would say to Astrid.

A year ago the Bosmer would have found her way into Maven's basement and performed the Black Sacrament herself but over the time the two guilds had been working together she realised that much of the ritual and pomp of the Dark Brotherhood had been abandoned to save the Skyrim sect. It was all very pragmatic and very much like Astrid so Vallan thought to tackle this purely from a business perspective. Astrid had a favour to ask of her, Vallan had both the favour and a letter of credit.

She was sure they could work something out.

The Bosmer was still going over the facts in her head as she sat in Deadman's Drink waiting for Astrid. When they were a short distance from the stone archway into Falkreath the assassins had left, telling her simply that Astrid would be there shortly. Deciding against waiting out in the open Vallan had made her way to the inn and settled in a seat by the door. She tried her best not to fidget but the hard wooden planks were doing nothing for the pains she had got from riding a horse for two days.

In between planning and bemoaning her aching arse she'd glance up at the door. There wasn't much light in the inn as Falkreath itself seemed to be perpetually gloomy and the thief didn't want to miss Astrid's appearance.

It wasn't much longer before the door cracked open and a casually clothed Astrid slipped into the dingy room. She didn't immediately make her way over to Vallan, instead going to the bar and buying them both an ale.

Vallan didn't much like the taste of ale but decided she'd be worse off rejecting the gesture of goodwill so waited patiently for the Nord to come to her.

"I'm glad you could come on such short notice," Astrid murmured, placing the drink in front of the Bosmer. Despite trying to downplay her mood the excitement dripped off her tongue, causing Vallan's cursed curiosity to rear its head.

"You've intrigued me," she replied lightly, cupping her bottle to keep her fingers from twitching. "Who's the mark?"

"The emperor."

A full body twitch shook the elf.

"What?" She hissed, unmindful of the way the sharpness of her voice cut across the inn. A couple heads turned their way and the bard faltered slightly on her note.

Glaring at Vallan for being so careless, Astrid rose from the table and strode out the door leaving her partner to scramble gracelessly after her.

Astrid headed down the stony path towards the forest and Vallan followed her uneasily. She knew what she had done was stup- no not even stupid, drawing attention to a delicate discussion was a novice error in her field.

A novice error that could get you killed…

Not wanting to die so soon, Vallan kept an eye on Astrid's movements, trying to identify the start of a strike. Her gait was purposeful, looking at odds with the blue dress she was wearing as it was obvious this was a woman used to armour and battle. Not that she doubted the assassin's acting skill. She had looked like every other harmless villager back at the tavern.

Vallan was pretty sure she was developing an ulcer.

A good thief however never focused solely on her target so Vallan was able to discern when Astrid stepped onto a faint path. She could also tell that Astrid was getting tenser the further down the path they went.

It came to a head at the start of a slope. Had the Bosmer not been watching for it Astrid's sudden spin would have startled her. As it was she deftly jumped back a couple paces, hands on her dagger sheaves and legs crouched.

For a moment Astrid was the one surprised before she gave a condescending smile.

"We're almost at the Sanctuary," she declared, "I just felt I should warn you before we enter. We don't often entertain guests and my family may have forgotten their manners." She paused for a moment as Vallan straightened up, a light blush on her cheeks.

It was Astrid's last words that caused her pointy ears to burn beneath her hood however.

"But don't worry; I'll make sure the _scary_ assassins do you no harm."

After being sworn to secrecy about the Sanctuary's location and password Astrid lead Vallan through the mildly off putting door and to her planning table. It was messy with correspondences, plans and notes piled up and spilling onto a map of Skyrim.

"As you can see," Astrid gestured to the disorganised papers, "I've been busy." The Nord rounded the table so that she was directly across from Vallan.

"We've been contracted to kill the Emperor of Tamriel" Astrid said in a rush, sorting through papers, clearly looking for something. "We've got a plan but I need your help for it to work."

She paused her digging to look Vallan in the eyes, her own almost manic.

"You are a Thane of Solitude, correct? You have property there?"

"Yes, I own Proudspire Manor." The thief replied, not liking where this was going. It was her most expensive home; she'd prefer not to house a bunch of bloodthirsty murderers there for obvious reasons.

"Good, we'll need it. Consider that necklace rent and payment for other services because we'll need you to-"

The elf cleared her throat noisily causing the other to pause.

"I'm willing to pay you coin for the necklace." She said pulling out the letter of credit from a pouch and sliding it across to Astrid. "I am also willing to put you up in Proudspire and perform any other task you need for this plot, should you be willing to assist me in an endeavour."

Astrid raised an eyebrow at her before accepting the slip of paper. The other eyebrow joined its twin as she read the price.

Vallan sent off a silent prayer to Nocturnal.

"I want someone dead."

Astrid blinked before a smile started to creep onto her face, clearly thinking she had the better end of the bargain.

"But I want her dead by _my hand_ , with your help."

The smile died a quick death as a stormy look stole onto Astrid's face.

"Assassinations are the Brotherhood's territory," She growled. "If someone is causing your guild trouble then-"

"It's personal Astrid," the Bosmer once again cut across.

From the twitch in her eye it was obvious Astrid was getting tired of being interrupted so calling on her Amulet of Articulation, Vallan looked at the Nord beseechingly.

"It's not for the guild, Astrid, this is a personal matter. One I want to see to myself." She paused, letting the steel in her voice sink in.

The tense silence lasted for a few minutes before Astrid sighed. "I'm going to need to know the who's and why's but not now." The assassin scrubbed her face as if exhausted before she visibly pulled herself together and made her way over to the passage way behind Vallan.

"Nazir should have cooked up something to eat and there's an initiate's bed you can sleep on. I'll mull your offer over tonight and you can get… _acquainted_ with my family seeing as you're so eager to work with them." At those last words Astrid glanced back towards her and Vallan forced her face into a blank mask before following her down the tunnel.

She wasn't even out the other side when she heard voices. "-Is dark down here. Oh but you are so beautiful. Such lovely teeth. Your teeth... your teeth! No! Aggghh!" The affected voice would have been comical if had not been the content of the tale and the obvious youth of its teller.

"Oh Babette, you are so wicked" That was the dark elf that had retrieved her. While Astrid continued to stride forward, Vallan paused at the edge of the tunnel, getting a full view of the semi circle around what appeared to be a little girl.

"I know, sister." The girl, Babette, giggled and then turned to meet their leader. "Astrid, you missed my tale," she cried, crossing her arms over her chest. Vallan didn't get long to think the presence of a child in a group of murderers before she too was spotted.

"There you are! Astrid told me all about you," she stated knowingly, causing all eyes to fall on the Bosmer dawdling by the tunnel. "Don't be shy Guildmaster, we don't bite... well some of us do." She gave a creepy smile, flashing... fangs. Well that explained her presence.

As she grew older, Vallan had discarded many parts of her culture when they didn't suit her needs. She didn't follow the green pact and honoured Y'ffre as much as Talos - as in not at all. But if there was one part of her culture her mother had instilled upon her it was that the undead were despicable beings with unnatural urges and all must be laid to rest.

But she guessed attempting to ram her daggers through the abomination would sour her deal with Astrid, if not get her killed horribly.

She did remain by the tunnel however.

Babette frowned at her reticence but said no more and it was left to Astrid to make the awkward introductions.

"In case some of you are too simple to guess, this is the Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild. She will be staying with us while we complete our contract." A smatter of murmuring erupted at that statement but Astrid had already turned back to Vallan. "You can greet my family at your leisure but know you won't find a safer place in all of Skyrim. So get comfortable for tonight and we can go over business in the morning."

"Astrid," the elder assassin of the group began, "don't you think the keeper should be alerted." He faltered slightly at Astrid's dark look but soldiered on. "Not that I'm questioning your judgment but he takes his duty to protect the Night Mother very seriously and the old ways say-"

"What do the old ways have to do with the now Festus?" Astrid snapped. "I am the leader of this Sanctuary. My word is law and it was my word that welcomed Vallan to our home." The blond Nord took a steadying breath before dismissing those gathered. After waiting for them to go she turned to the thief besides her.

"A word to wise, Vallan; stay away from the clown."


End file.
